Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to encourage clothing retailers to interrogate their supply chains in China to assess the working conditions of people working in that country.

The UK government works with business to provide guidance for companies to meet their obligations to respect human rights throughout their operations. Recent changes to the Companies Act have strengthened requirements for company reporting to include these issues.

DFID has developed a package of activities - including engagement with clothing retailers - to address unsafe working conditions in the garment sector in Bangladesh, following the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013, which will have wider benefits. In terms of UK companies engaging with HMG on working conditions, DFID does not have a bilateral programme with China.